That aid total would be equal to the country's entire economic output in 2011.

The Russian presence in Cyprus is highly visible, from property advertisements in Russian to newspapers and schools. Russian-owned deposits in Cypriot banks are said to total $26 billion.

An estimated 50,000 Russians live in the Greek Cypriot-run Republic of Cyprus, making up five percent of the population of more than 800,000. A smaller community lives in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island.